Snap-in lens for lamp housing

ABSTRACT

A bulb-housing having a window in a wall that is conically curved, and a transparent insert adapted to snap into the window. The internal surface of the conical wall has a ridge along either side, so positioned as to firmly grip the transparent insert. The insert has a projection which extends across one ridge and as far as a locking ridge parallel with the said one ridge. The projection locks into a hook on the locking ridge, and the insert itself catches under a ledge on the bulb-housing which prevents the insert from removal in the direction parallel to the said ridges.

United States Patent Magi et al.

[451 Mar. 21, 1972 i541 SNAP-IN LENS FOR LAMP HOUSING [72] Inventors: Hugo Magi, Etobicoke; John Smlth, Willowdale, Ontario, both of Canada 211 Appl. No; 35,133

[52] U.S. Cl. .240/151, 240/735, 240/83, 240/4L55. 240/152 [51] lnt.Cl ..I'Zlv 17/06, B60q 1/30 [58] Fleld oisearch ..240/151, 152,7.35, 8.3,52.1, 240/41.4, 41.55, 102, 137

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,525,977 10/1950 Tinnaman ..240/151 2,903,570 9/1959 Worden ......240/152 X 3,176,260 3/1965 Pascucci ..240/52.1 X 3,396,269 8/1968 Jorenson ..240/152 3,514,010 5/1970 Rossi ..240/7.35 X

Primary Examiner-Richard C. Queisser Assistant ExaminerEllis J. Koch Attorney-Sim and McBurney [57] ABSTRACT A bulb-housing having a window in a wall that is conically curved, and a transparent insert adapted to snap into the window. The internal surface of the conical wall has a ridge along either side, so positioned as to firmly grip the transparent insert. The insert has a projection which extends across one ridge and as far as a locking ridge parallel with the said one ridge. The projection locks into a hook on the locking ridge, and the insert itself catches under a ledge on the bulb-housing which prevents the insert from removal in the direction parallel to the said ridges.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUMRZI 1922 3.651 32 1 INVli.\"/ ms FIG. 4 HUGO MAGI 31 JOHN SMITH SNAP-IN LENS FOR LAMP HOUSING This invention relates generally to vehicular lamps adapted to illuminate license plates from above, and has to do particularly with a part-conical lamp-housing having a roughly rectangular window in its wall, the window being adapted to receive a complimentary snap-in lens.

The object of this invention is to provide a lens and lamphousing construction in which the lens is very securely retained in position by the lamp-housing once it has been snapped into place. Conventional lens and lamp-housing constructions usually have the disadvantage that the lens is too loosely mounted in the housing, with the concomitant dangers of moisture and precipitation entry, damage of the lens due to rattling, and the possibility of being manually dislodged.

Accordingly, this invention provides, in combination, a bulb-housing and a snap-in insert, the bulb-housing comprising: a substantially conical wall portion open at the base, the internal surface of the conical wall portion supporting a first ridge normal to the base, a second ridge normal to the base and spaced from said first ridge, and a locking element on the side of said second ridge which is remote from said first ridge, an opening in the wall portion between said first and second ridges, the snap-in insert having a substantially conically curved transparent window portion adapted to fit into said opening, a first edge adapted to lodge against said first ridge, a second edge adapted to lodge against said second ridge, said second edge having a projection normal to said second edge and extending to said locking element, the second ridge being shaped to accommodate said projection when the second edge is lodged against said second ridge, the locking element having a locking recess in which the projection can lodge in such a way that it is restrained from movement radially inwardly of the wall portion, the wall portion having an inwardly extending catch portion adapted to catch part of the insert and prevent its removal from the bulb-housing in a direction parallel to the wall portion.

One embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a bulb-housing and a snap-in insert including a transparent window portion;

FIG. 2 is a part-sectional, perspective view of a portion of FIG. 1, showing the snap-in insert locked into place;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken at the line 4--4 of FIG. 1, parallel to the open base of the bulb-housing.

Turning first to FIG. 1, there is shown a bulb-housing l0 and a snap-in insert 12. The bulb-housing 10 includes a substan tially conical wall portion 14 which is open at its circular base 16. The bulb-housing 10 also includes an end wall 18. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the wall portion 14 is not exactly conical, but rather is slightly convex so that it converges more rapidly adjacent the end wall 18 than it does adjacent the base 16.

It will be seen in FIG. 1 that the internal surface 20 of the wall portion 14 supports a first ridge 22 disposed normally to the base 16, a second ridge 24 disposed normally to the base and spaced from the first ridge 22, and a locking element 26 located on that side of the second ridge 24 which is remote from the first ridge 22. The wall portion 14 has an opening 28 between the first ridge 22 and the second ridge 24, and it will be seen that the opening is substantially rectangular in shape (ignoring the conical curvature of the wall portion 14).

Attention is now directed to the insert 12 in FIG. 1, which is seen to include a conically curved transparent window portion 30 which is adapted to fit into the opening 28. The window portion 30 has an integral frame 31 which includes a first edge 32 which is adapted to lodge against the first ridge 22, and a second edge 34 adapted to lodge against the second ridge 24. The second edge 34 has a projection 36 substantially perpendicular to the second edge 34, the projection 36 being long enough to extend from the second ridge 24 to the locking element 26. The second ridge 24 has a notch 37 of which the apex is substantially flush with the internal surface 20 of the wall portion 14, and thus the second ridge 24 is shaped to accommodate the projection 36 when, as shown in FIG. 2, the second edge 34 of the insert 12 is lodged against the second ridge 24.

The locking element 26 is elongated in a direction parallel with the second ridge 24, and has a finger 39 which is spaced from the internal surface 20 of the wall portion 14, and extends generally toward the circular base 16 of the bulb-housing 10. Thus, the finger 39 defines with the wall portion 14 a locking recess 40 in which the projection 36 can lodge in such a way that it is restrained from movement radially inward of the wall portion 14.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wall portion 14 has, adjacent the circular base 16, an inwardly extending catch portion 42 in the shape of a triangular shelf supported along one side by the wall portion 14 and along another side by the second ridge 24. In FIG. 1, the dotted line 44 indicates the join between the catch portion 42 and the wall portion 14, and thus also indicates the shape of the catch portion 42. The catch portion 42 is adapted to catch a part of the snap-in insert 12 and prevent the removal of the latter from the bulb-housing 10 in a direction parallel to the wall portion 14. Specifically, the catch portion 42 is adapted to catch the shoulder 46 of the frame 31 of the insert 12, and in FIG. 2 it can be seen that the shoulder 46 is in fact lodged behind the catch portion 42. The provision of the catch portion 42 and its interaction with the shoulder 46 accounts for the snap-in character of the insert 12. As the insert 12 is being pushed into place between the first ridge 22 and the second ridge 24, the second edge 34 will ride on top of the catch portion 42 until the shoulder 46 reaches the point where it can snap-in behind the catch portion 42.

It will be noted, particularly in FIG. 3, that the wall portion 14 is not exactly conical, but is rather slightly convex outwardly. The precise shape of the wall portion 14 is not considered to be essential to this invention. It is believed, however, that the wall portion 14 should be substantially conical, with the word substantially covering minor departures from a true conical shape. It is believed, for example, that the cone to which the wall portion substantially conforms could be modified in the direction of a cylinder, and could, in fact, almost have a cylindrical shape, without affecting the invention in any way.

It is believed that one particular characteristic of the construction taught herein, namely that the insert 12, once in place, is virtually impossible to dislodge manually, relates to the relative positioning of the catch portion 42 and the locking recess 40. Specifically, once the insert 12 is snapped into place, manual pressure can only be applied through the opening 28 against the window portion 30, and this inward pressure will be generally at a location in line with the locking recess 40, which absolutely prevents the projection 36 from moving inwardly of the wall portion 14. Thus, if the pressure could be applied exactly on the shoulder 46, it is conceivable that the insert 12 could be dislodged, because the shoulder 46 could possibly be pushed inwardly to the point where it is no longer restrained by the catch portion 42. However, manual pressure cannot be applied at this point, since there is no way to get at the shoulder 46, once it has been snapped into place.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a bulb-housing and a snap-in insert, the bulb-housing comprising:

a substantially conical wall portion open at the base,

the internal surface of the conical wall portion supporting a first ridge normal to the base, a second ridge normal to the base and spaced from said first ridge, and a locking element on the side of said second ridge which is remote y from said first ridge,

an opening in the wall portion between said first and second ridges,

the snap-in insert having a substantially conically curved transparent window portion adapted to fit into said opening, a first edge adapted to lodge against said first ridge, a

adapted to catch a part of the insert and prevent its removal from the bulb-housing in a direction parallel to the wall portion.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1, in which the locking element is shaped as a ridge parallel with the second ridge and has a finger extending toward the open base of the conical wall portion but spaced from the wall portion, the finger defining said locking recess, and in which said projection extends from a point intermediate said second edge.

I. t i I II 

1. In combination, a bulb-housing and a snap-in insert, the bulb-housing comprising: a substantially conical wall portion open at the base, the internal surface of the conical wall portion supporting a first ridge normal to the base, a second ridge normal to the base and spaced from said first ridge, and a locking element on the side of said second ridge which is remote from said first ridge, an opening in the wall portion between said first and second ridges, the snap-in insert having a substantially conically curved transparent window portion adapted to fit into said opening, a first edge adapted to lodge against said first ridge, a second edge adapted to lodge against said second ridge, said second edge having a projection normal to said second edge and extending to said locking element, the second ridge being shaped to accommodate said projection when the second edge is lodged against said second ridge, the locking element having a locking recess in which the projection can lodge in such a way that it is restrained from movement radially inwardly of the wall portion, the wall portion having an inwardly extending catch portion adapted to catch a part of the insert and prevent its removal from the bulb-housing in a direction parallel to the wall portion.
 2. The combination claimed in claim 1, in which the locking element is shaped as a ridge parallel with the second ridge and has a finger extending toward the open base of the conical wall portion but spaced from the wall portion, the finger defining said locking recess, and in which said projection extends from a point intermediate said second edge. 